Niger police seize 440 pounds of cocaine from mayor of town

By DALATOU MAMANE
Associated Press

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Niger officials say that police have seized more than 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of cocaine from the vehicle of the mayor of a small town in the country’s north. Niger’s Central Office for the Repression of Illicit Drug Trafficking issued a statement saying that nearly 200 bricks of cocaine were apprehended from the official vehicle of the mayor of Fachi, a trading center about 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Agadez. The statement said that the mayor and his driver were taken to Niamey, Niger’s capital, for questioning and officials are pursuing another suspect believed to be involved in the smuggling. It said that European Union agents are also involved.